Cher Horowitz | DIY Halloween Costume

Happy Halloween!

This year, I decided to embrace my inner preppy school girl and dress as Cher Horowitz from the film, Clueless. It's one of my favourite films which I can watch over and over and not get bored of. But there was no way, I was just going to order a pre-made costume off the internet because that would be too easy, right? So, about a week ago I set myself the challenge of making the costume from scratch! WHY?! 

The fabric was so hard to find, I mean I thought yellow tartan would be all the rage and in such high demand. Turns out it's not that popular. In the end, I managed to locate a grey tartan that incorporated mustard checks from Calico & Co; which I think actually makes the outfit better as it means I can style the pieces separately with different garments into my everyday wardrobe. 

My grandma really supports my sewing and fashion passion by giving me the patterns that come included with the magazine, Prima. I used two of these Prima patterns to create the outfit; the skirt is from April 2017 magazine and the jacket is from March 2016 edition. Although, I did alter the jacket pattern to shorten the hem as it was originally a coat length and I added sleeves from a previous project. 

Overall I would say that the patterns give a good finished product, however, to achieve that is extremely difficult. The skirt pattern was actually pretty simple to follow and I love the way it fits. The jacket on the hand was practically impossible! The instructions or lack thereof were confusing and frustrating; I felt like every time I took a step forward, I would almost certainly have to take one back and unpick the previous work.

Because I thought the outfit was looking more Britney Spears in the music video, 'Baby One More Time' with the grey being the main colour, I embellished the back of the jacket with Cher's most famous quote "Ugh, as if!" with beading, hand embroidery and applique. I personally believe, this design makes the garment more modern as denim jackets are currently very trendy which are often heavily decorated as such. 

I styled the co-ord set with a plain white t-shirt from George, Asda and a mustard cardigan with black piping from H&M. My shoes are from New Look and these socks are just old ones from primary school days, but you can probably find these in any back to school range. I also teamed the look with bright yellow nail polish from Rimmel, this particular shade is called 'Chin Up, Buttercup'.

My Halloween Costumes Through the Years

Since today is Friday 13th, I thought I might as well get started with my Halloween themed blog posts! One thing you should know about me is that I love Halloween; dressing up and making my own costumes is so much fun, so today I thought I would take you down memory lane, I present to you some of my Halloween costumes from the past few years!

I'm going to start with 2014, when I was going through a phase of absolutely loving everything Miley Cyrus related! I even ran an Instagram account dedicated to her - that's true devotion! Obviously, I was a bit late to this bandwagon as this look was from the 2013 Video Music Awards, but I didn't really care; it was slightly controversial and my parents didn't entirely agree with the costume choice, which really fueled that teenage rebellion!

In the year following, 2015, my friends and I didn't really feel like going out; nobody we knew was throwing a party and we were a bit old now for trick or treating. So we decided to stay at home and do some Halloween DIYs. We made mummy jar lanterns and gothic flower crowns. After finishing these before it was even dark and putting on skull makeup, we ended up going trick or treating anyway which also included an impromptu photoshoot in the park!

Last year, I actually hosted a Halloween party, so naturally, I had to be the belle of the ball. I went for something vague and definitely not scary, but very glamorous as a 1920's flapper girl. This costume developed through the week leading up as I accumulated more props from my friends and the trusty roof where you can find pretty much anything if you look hard enough! So when the big night came around, I was really impressed with myself, I had spent no money on this costume, yet managed to still look like how I intended.

I actually didn't manage to get any photos of just me last year because as said, I was hosting, so most of the night was spent making sure everything was running smoothly. But here is me with my friends, which might give you even more Halloween inspiration - getting four for the price of one, lucky you!

Autumn Fashion in Court Gardens

Autumn is by far my most favourite season, not only for the crisp weather, beautiful colours that transform the trees and Halloween at the end of the month, but I absolutely love the fashion autumn has to offer. I find dressing for this season can be so effortless and still achieve you maximum style points.

Last Friday, I took the train down to Bradford on Avon and visited The Court Gardens at Holt, Wiltshire. I had never been there before and was in complete marvel with how stunning the grounds were. Why hadn't I gone sooner?! Ultimately I had styled my trousers to match the amber leaves, but then I found these flowers where my legs blended in and became one with nature. It was a photo opportunity just waiting to happen!

As I mentioned in my previous post, my favourite clothing garment right now is floral patterned trousers. These are a pair I bought from depop, however, they are originally from Topshop, and I think these are perfect for this season. Whilst some of this style of trouser is more suited for the summer weather; this particular pair are made from a thicker cotton fabric which makes them great for this transitional weather. 

I have paired the trousers with a simple black T-Shirt from Primark, as they do all the talking for this outfit without a busy T-Shirt. I absolutely love this jacket from Gap, a few years ago, because the colour works with so much of my autumn wardrobe and it's really easy to wear. I'm also wearing my loafers from the New Look sale, which look almost identical to the Gucci loafers, apart from the fact I got mine for £6, not £600!

The gardens also have a bronze sculpture, art exhibition currently on created by artists, Fiona Campbell and Ian Turnock, which I would highly recommend going to see. The pieces were very intricately made and the bronze metals used complimented the autumn colours so well. The exhibition is only on until October 15th, but it's definitely worth taking an afternoon out to go visit.